Saturday, June 28, 2008

river arrested for DUI in fatal head-on crash

A woman involved in a fatal head-on collision Friday night has been arrested for investigation of driving under the influence.

Washington State Patrol trooper Cliff Pratt said the woman suffered a broken ankle in the crash, but was booked into the King County Jail after treatment.

"She didn't even know her ankle was broken," Pratt said.

The collision happened around 10 p.m. on state Route 18 near the Tiger Mountain Summit, the State Patrol reported.

A woman driving a sedan near the summit crossed into the opposing lanes of traffic and collided head-on with a Volkswagen bug, Pratt said.

While the driver of the sedan was easily extricated, the driver of the bug, a 27-year-old woman, and a male passenger in the sedan, were trapped in the wreckage. Firefighters had to cut both victims out of the vehicles.

Both were said to be in critical condition and one later died, but Pratt was unclear which of the victims was deceased.

The highway was closed in both directions for several hours after the collision to allow troopers to investigate.